Family days out

Check out our brilliant guide to green family trips set in the past or the future (but which you can visit now!)

These fun days out are either in environmentally-friendly venues or they’re a great way to learn about nature and the environment...

Nationwide

Earthships: Brighton and Fife

Show your kids the way of the future by taking them on a tour of an Earthship – the epitome of sustainable living.

These incredible homes are made from natural, recycled materials. Internal walls are made from recycled cans and bottles, the roofs are like giant dishes for catching rainwater, and the whole thing is thickly insulated with earth for energy efficiency.

To see one, visit the UK’s first Earthship in Fife or the Earthship in Stanmer, Brighton.

Organic gardens

A trip to an organic garden could be the family day out that satisfies everyone: plenty of space to run about and green planting and cultivation ideas for you to take home.

Thanks to the UK’s leading organic growing charity, Garden Organic, a whole range of gardens are open to inspire the public, including Audley End Organic Kitchen Garden in Essex, in the grounds of a glorious, English Heritage, Jacobean stately home.

This looks much as it would have done in late Victorian times, when the garden would have supplied the cook and her staff with an array of fresh fruit and veg for everyday consumption by the Lord and Lady of the house and their family. Really fascinating, time-travelling stuff.

In the south

BedZED Visitor Centre, Wallington, Surrey

BedZED is the UK’s largest eco village and shows how easy, accessible and affordable a greener lifestyle is.

You can look around an environmentally-friendly show home where the kitchen cupboards are made from recycled vending-machine coffee cups, the bedlinen is Fairtrade and even the towels are bamboo. This really is an Ideal Home Exhibition of the future.

Ecohome at CREATE, Bristol

Check out this purpose-built Ecohome, room by room, and pick up some practical ideas on greener living.

Children can head off on the Green Smiley Face trail, and you can take away an Eco-Living or Eco-Building and DIY booklet free, with brilliant money-saving, ecofriendly advice we can all benefit from.

There are also special exhibitions, a gallery space and café – quite simply, there’s something for everyone at Ecohome.

Eden Project, Cornwall

The Eden Project was once a barren china clay pit. The transformation ten years on has to be seen to be believed.

Centred on several massive Biomes – one of which is the biggest greenhouse in the world – the Eden Project is packed with plant species from all over the globe. Visit the Rainforest biome for a taste of the jungle, or the Mediterranean biome next door, for olive trees and grape vines.

There are inspiring displays, imaginative children’s play areas, impromptu storytelling sessions and workshops for all ages.

There are events throughout the year too, such as ice skating at Christmas and den building in the summer.

In Wales

Centre for Alternative Technology, Snowdonia

Kids will love this world-famous eco centre, tucked away in the rolling hills of southern Snowdonia.

On arrival, you ascend 60m (180ft) on the remarkable cliff railway, which is powered by water balancing. Once there, explore a dazzling array of exhibits and interactive displays that are perfect for keeping little hands and feet busy for hours.

There are fun holiday activity programmes too, and the whole centre is blessed with a stunning diversity of flora and fauna, great views, organic gardens and even a wholefood restaurant – what’s not to like?